Tiger Mates With Lion, Gives Birth to “Liger” Cub in Siberian Zoo
In what local zoologists are calling a miracle, a Bengalese tiger has given birth to a healthy tiger-lion cub at a Novosibirsk zoo.
The cub is a cross between the female Bengalese tiger and an African lion. The animal resembled a lion cub except that it had stripes, and has been dubbed a “liger”, the Russian Information Agency Novosti reported.
“This was not the result of a scientific experiment,” Novosti quoted zoo director Rostislav Shilo as saying. “It’s just that the lion and the tiger live in neighboring caves in the Novosibirsk zoo, and got used to each other. It’s practically impossible in the wild.”
Shilo said that the “miracle cub” was christened Zita, and will remain in the zoo. But what will happen to the cub in the future, “no one can say”.